Patient Stories

Patient: Deanne Sherman

December 2011

Deanne Sherman, age 64, West Chester, Pennsylvania

The former celebrity reporter with three sons and four
grandchildren was told she may have to have her esophagus removed to
prevent esophageal cancer. Then she found out about Cellvizio, the
world’s smallest microscope…

Several years ago, when Ms. Sherman was diagnosed with Barrett’s
esophagus, a condition of abnormal, potentially precancerous change in
the lower esophagus, the initial recommendation from her physician was
to have her entire esophagus removed because he couldn’t see the
pre-cancerous tissue with the imaging tools he used “I have to find
another doctor,” she thought. Ms. Sherman decided to get a second
opinion at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania where Dr.
Bob Etemad told her that she would not have to undergo such a drastic
surgery because of a new imaging technology called Cellvizio. With the
Cellvizio, Dr. Etemad was able differentiate all the suspicious looking
tissue in her esophagus and remove it on the spot with minimally
invasive techniques.

"I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear Dr. Etemad tell me
there was another option," said Ms. Sherman. "Since I retired, my
husband and I had made many plans to travel and spend time visiting
family and friends. After three minimally invasive endoscopy
procedures, I am cancer free and ready to live my life."

Patient: Yoram Barzel

November 2011

Dr. Yoram Barzel, a native Israeli and professor of
microeconomics at the University of Washington feels he’s a lucky man.
Two and a half years ago after a surgery left him suffering from
chronic acid reflux, the 80 year-old grandfather of four was diagnosed
with Barrett’s Esophagus, a condition in which the lining of the
esophagus is damaged by stomach acid, and can lead to cancer of the
esophagus.

As recently as seven to ten years ago, the only treatment for
Professor Barzel’s condition would have been to remove his esophagus,
because imaging technologies weren’t powerful enough to differentiate
the potentially cancerous cells from healthy ones. But Dr. Michael
Saunders at the University of Washington Medical Center told him that
he had another option. During an endoscopy procedure, Dr. Saunders used
Cellvizio, the world’s smallest microscope, to see the individual cells
lining his esophagus. He was able to target the pre-cancerous tissue
and performed a minimally invasive procedure to remove it on the spot.
Prof. Barzel returned to Dr. Saunders twice for similar endoscopy
procedures and has been deemed Barrett’s and cancer free.

Patient: Gary Rolf

December 2011

Gary Rolf, age 65, New London, Connecticut

A retried grandfather and life-long nuclear construction worker,
Gary battled with esophageal issues related to acid reflux for many
years…

Gary had always been very proactive about his health because the
amounts of radiation he was exposed to during his career. So, after his
primary care doctor told him that his acid reflux could be causing
dangerous changes to the lining of his esophagus, he went to go see
specialist, Dr. Uzma Siddiqui at Yale Medical Center.

Dr. Siddiqui told Gary that he was in the early stages of Barrett’s
esophagus, a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer.

She and her colleagues were using a new advanced imaging tool called
Cellvizio that allowed her to see individual cells during endoscopy
procedures.

Instead of taking random biopsies of Gary's esophagus as physicians
have had to do in the past, she used Cellvizio to pinpoint all of the
potentially dangerous cells.

After several minimally invasive procedures, he no longer has any
remaining Barrett’s tissue. “I can’t stress enough how important it is
to monitor one’s health closely. Because of new research tools like the
Cellvizio, I can enjoy spending time with my ten grandchildren,
attending New York Giants and Knicks games and travelling to the U.K.,”
said Gary.